Stampeding
by KhandoriStarkkos
Summary: Trigun Crossover. A simple exploration mission leads Naruto to the discovery of an ancient artifact, and the knowledge of his heritage. Watch as he becomes a ninja with two very important values: Love and Peace!
1. Chapter 1: Rosemary for Remembrance

This is in response to the one-shot that Yaraslava Rada posted. I hope (he?) enjoys it. I don't own the original idea, instead responding to a request made by Yaraslava Rada in the authors notes of the oneshot. The story is called Naruto the Stampede, if you wanted to read it.

I don't mean to bash any characters, and I'm sorry if my view of them disagrees with your view of them. But then again, it's all a matter of perspective, right?

I have no beta other than myself and my girlfriend. I pick up most of my mistakes by reading the latest chapter out to her. This being said, if you notice any mistakes please do not hesitate to tell me of them. Thank you in advance.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Trigun, though I totally wish I did. Both are simply awesome, though obviously not without their own personal weaknesses. But then, wat's the point of reading a story without weaknesses? You couldn't think of your own ways of how the story unfolded if that was the case, which would deprive the masses of the pleasure of creating their own story.

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><p>Chapter One: Rosemary for Remembrance<p>

Hiruzen Sarutobi read over the Mission request quickly, merely glancing at the important points. He saw no problems, and quickly approved the C-Ranked Exploration mission for assignment, before turning back to other important paperwork. The mission was quickly taken out of his office in the next load to be transported to the Mission Centre a few levels below his office, where it was rolled up and placed in the correct tube and it's contents marked down on a list. It joined many other missions of the same type and rank, waiting to be accepted.

A few days later, Team 7 under the Jonin Kakashi Hatake arrived in the Mission Centre. They requested a C-Ranked mission, as they had already completed one and where quickly getting tired of the D-Ranked mission they had been getting. Of course, the C-Ranked mission they had done beforehand had quickly been bumped up to an A-Ranked, but that was neither here nor there.

Iruka Umino was working in the Mission Centre as they came in, as it was currently the Academy holidays and he wouldn't get new students for at least another fortnight. He had to admit, Kakashi had been right when he acquiesced to Naruto's earlier demands for a C-Ranked mission, and this time held no real qualms about handing out another one. He quickly scanned the list in front of him, and thought a simple exploration mission would do nicely.

"Team 7, we have an exploration mission that came in a few days ago. A cave was found about a week ago, and the client has asked for a team of ninja's to explore it, as he wants to build nearby and would like to make sure nothing potentially harmful resides there." He explained calmly. The teams faces were normal – Naruto looked excited at the mission and confused at a few of Iruka's words, Sasuke looked bored, and Sakura looked adoringly at Sasuke. Kakashi was reading his book. He internally sighed at their disregard for proper protocol when in the Mission Centre. "Do you accept?"

Naruto instantly shot a fist into the air. "Yeah! We'll totally kick ass in this assignment and beat up everything we find in that cave!"

"Naruto!" Sakura growled, and hit him over the head. "Be more respectful!"

Sasuke did nothing, merely staring at the wall beside him darkly. There was no real way of seeing what the last Uchiha was thinking, unless you were trained in the ways of body language. Sadly, Iruka wasn't. Kakashi sighed and nodded, accepting the scroll Iruka handed over to him. He pocketed it and turned to his Genin.

"We'll meet at the Eastern Gate at 0900 tomorrow. Dismissed." He waved them off in a bored manner, quickly getting stuck back into his book. The Genin quickly agreed and went about their usual parting ritual. Sakura asked Sasuke out on a date and was rejected, and then Naruto asked her out on a date and was hit on the head for even suggesting it.

Iruka watched them go and sighed again, smiling fondly. Ah to be that age again…

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><p>"Alright team. This is a simple exploration mission." Kakashi started as soon as he got there, which was 9:30. The Genin had expected this of course, so they weren't too surprised. In fact, they were only surprised over the fact he had been merely half an hour late, instead of his usual two. "There is a newly discovered cave system about three hours travel northeast of this location, and we are to check it out."<p>

"Yes! A whole cave system, and we'll be the first ones in there! I bet it's full of dangerous beasts that we'll have to defeat in order to complete it, and then we can go to the guy who hired us and tell him how super cool we are, and he'll pay us tons of money!" Naruto cheered. Sasuke scowled as he cut a glare at the hyperactive boy's back.

"Naruto, shut up. Idiot." He stated, and the orange boy turned to him.

'Bastard Sasuke!" He growled. He reared his fist in order to 'exact justice' upon the Uchiha's head, and maybe knock some sense into the boy, but Sakura interrupted him will a well timed punch of her own.

"Idiot! Leave Sasuke alone!" She screeched, pounding him once more just to make sure he understood. She then turned on her tardy teacher. "And Kakashi! You're supposed to set an example; so you need to be more punctual!"

"Ah, but Sakura, I do set an example." Kakashi contradicted her. "Do as I say, not as I do, right?"

He smiled at her from under his mask, and the pink-haired girl huffed in annoyance before hitting Naruto once more to relieve her agitation. Kakashi merely turned away and led the way out of the village.

"Move out!"

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><p>They reached the cave fairly quickly. Or rather, fairly quickly for a civilian and about average for a ninja. They landed lightly in front of a small farmstead, and soon a young man came out to greet them.<p>

"Ah! You must be the ninja's my father hired." He said. "Thanks for coming out here so quickly. I really want to build my own home, but my dad refused to let me until he'd made sure the area was safe. The cave is just up this way."

He led them through the forest along a small trail that had obviously been made recently for a few minutes, until the team found a cliff. Set into the side was a low tunnel, and the man turned back to them. "The tunnel heightens further inside. I'll be at my dad's, so when you're done just come see us. Thanks again!"

He jogged off back in the direction they had come, and Kakashi turned to his Genin once more. "Okay, this is it. I'll take point, Sasuke and Sakura will be sides, and Naruto will bring up the rear. Any questions?"

"Yeah, why do I have to bring up the rear? Make Sasuke do it!" Naruto complained loudly, and Sakura hit him over the head for the fifth time that day.

"Naruto! Stop being so stupid. It's because Sasuke is so much stronger than you, so he's being put further up front! The rear won't be attacked because the area around here is mostly tame. Stop being such a loser!" She scolded him. Naruto hissed at the large lump on his head, which he was sure was going to bruise from the repeated hits. Sakura's punches weren't that hard, but they were enough to hurt.

"Hey, can't we all get along?" Kakashi asked, smiling again. Sasuke snorted but remained silent, and Sakura jabbed a thumb in Naruto's direction.

"Not with this idiot!" She claimed. Naruto fell silent, and the trio followed their teacher into the cave system.

It was dim inside, and they lit glow rods in order to see properly as they followed the twisting tunnel further in. Naruto's back was starting to get sore from being stooped over and he wondered how Kakashi could stand it, as the Jonin was much taller than the boy. Finally, as the man from the farm had said, the roof lifted and they could straighten up again. They saw arrows written in chalk denoting where the guy from before had explored, but there weren't many. They quickly disappeared, showing that he had turned back rather early into the cave system, satisfied that it was safe.

They turned down a few tunnels, but most of them were blocked off, and it was taking ages to get the search done. As they reached yet another fork in the path, Kakashi turned to the group.

"We have two choices here." He stated. "We could continue going as we have, in the one group. This will make sure that we're all together and can face everything safely in a group. The downside is that it will take twice as long to fully search the cave system. The other thing we could do is split up."

"Split up!" Naruto immediately shouted, and Sakura hit him as his voice echoed alarmingly through the cave.

"Idiot! If there is anything in here, they're now alerted to our presence!" She shouted back, ignoring the way her voice echoed as well. Sasuke merely grunted in agreement, and the girl turned to their teacher. "That being said, I also want to split up."

Kakashi turned to Sasuke, who only shrugged. He nodded in agreement. "Alright then, Sakura, Sasuke, you will take the left fork. Naruto, you're with me in the right path. Flare your chakra if something goes wrong, or you find something interesting. This is just an exploration mission though, so there shouldn't be any troubles. Anyone have a problem with that?"

Sasuke grunted again, and Sakura shook her head. "No, Kakashi. I'm fine as long as I'm not paired with that idiot. He'd probably blow up the cave and bury us alive or something."

Kakashi frowned slightly at her degrading remarks, but easily turned away, shooing them off. Sasuke smirked at Naruto, who wilted slightly then growled at Sasuke, only to jog a little ways down the path when Sakura raised her fist.

"I thought girls were meant to be made of sugar and spice and everything nice, and all that jazz. Love and peace, you know?" He muttered to himself.

Kakashi heard but said nothing as he once again pulled out his book, reading by the green light of his glow rod. He wasn't worried, as there had been nothing to suggest the cave was inhabited so far. He heard Sakura and Sasuke's footsteps fade as they travelled down their own tunnel. Sakura was talking the Uchiha's ear off, nattering on about something or other, but he didn't pay her that much attention.

The tunnel twisted and turned for a while longer, a few more paths branching off, but they all ended in dead ends. They reached a slightly larger room with a still pool sitting in the back corner. Naruto kicked a rock in frustration at not being able to find anything interesting or cool, and from Sakura's earlier comments and Sasuke's obvious pleasure in seeing him degraded like that. Even Kakashi hadn't stepped in to do anything, like usual.

The rock bounced off the wall and skittered along the floor, and Kakashi turned to him from his position beside the pool. Seeing nothing wrong, Kakashi turned back to the pond, which glowed slightly under the light.

Naruto noticed the tremor beneath their feet first, and Kakashi noticed a moment later as the pool rippled. The sound of gears turning filled the air suddenly, and the Jonin whirled on Naruto.

"What did you do?" He demanded, and the boy shrunk back.

"Nothing, I swear!" He protested. Kakashi stared at him for a moment, before a flare of Sakura's chakra caught his attention. It was weak, obviously blocked by the tons of rock between them, but he jumped to his feet and started running.

"Naruto! Stay here, and touch _nothing_!" He commanded before disappearing into the gloom. Naruto watched him disappear and sighed, looking around the room again.

The pool pulsed with light suddenly, lighting up the room and then dimming back down, and Naruto stepped over to see what it was in curiosity. The dirt beside it was disturbed from Kakashi's feet, and he crouched in the same spot, staring intently at the water that glowed green underneath his glow rod. It was fogged, as though he was trying to stare through mist, or even clouds.

He dipped a finger in curiously, and the water flashed again, blindingly bright this time. He covered his eyes with his arms, crying out in surprise as spots appeared in his vision and fell back on his bottom. The light died down quickly enough, and he spent the next few moments trying to blink away the spots in his vision. When he finally did, the water had cleared, and he could just see the glint of something metal in the bottom of the pool from the light of his glow stick.

He reached in and tried to grab whatever it was, but his arms weren't quite long enough. Pulling his arm back out of the water, he was surprised to see that his clothing wasn't wet or even slightly damp. It was as though he had merely been reaching into a deep pit.

He glanced back over his shoulder to the entrance of the room and stretched his senses, trying to see if his teacher was anywhere near the room. Hearing, seeing, smelling and feeling nothing with his chakra, he quickly turned back to the pool and placed his glow rod on the ground beside him. He removed his bulky jacket and ninja pouch and shoes, before sliding into the cool water. He gave a gasp as it chilled him, gooseflesh rising on his skin. He treaded water for a moment to build his courage before taking a deep breath and diving for the object that had caught his attention.

The water was crystal clear, and seemed to glow now that he was underneath it. He felt the feeling of ghostly hands caressing his body and a pair of arms wrapped him in their embrace for a moment, before pushing him further towards the object. As he grew closer, he saw it was possibly ancient technology from the time of the Big Fall, when humans first arrived on the planet. He hadn't paid much attention in history, but he knew some of the technology was still around. The Big Fall was one of the few things humankind remembered from the time of the Seven Cities, over three thousand years ago.

He grasped the strange object in his hand, his fist closing around the rectangular barrel before he turned and pushed of the base of the pool with his feet. He rocketed back towards the surface, this time feeling something caress his face. For a moment he thought he saw a strange girl with a kind smile and a growth resembling a pair of legs protruding from her back like wings, before his head broke the surface. He gasped and breathed in the air gratefully. He hadn't noticed his lungs becoming deprived of air in the weightless world of the pool.

He pulled himself out of the pool and collapsed on his back, his energy leaving his body all of a sudden. But he knew he couldn't fall asleep here – Kakashi would know he had entered the pool and touched something, and he would take the strange piece of ancient technology Naruto had found away from him. He pulled himself completely out of the pool, which flashed once more before becoming clouded again and losing its glow.

He pulled his jacket back on, puzzled by the fact that he wasn't wet at all from the liquid when he had just been completely submerged for at least a minute, and tucked the artefact into his inner pocket. He picked up his glow stick and tried to hide his weariness by adopting a smile and going to study the wall opposite the pool.

A few minutes later, Kakashi appeared with Sakura and Sasuke in tow, both looking decidedly ruffled and Sasuke was scowling. Naruto ran over, trying to act excited. "What happened? Did you fight a monster? Did you get caught in a trap? Hah! I bet I could have dealt with it all by myself!"

"Naruto! Shut up!" Sakura yelled and hit him on the head, and he hissed in pain again.

"They got caught by what seemed like an ancient trap, Naruto. Did you find anything in here?" Kakashi explained, and Naruto shook his head.

"No! All that's in here is that pool, and it doesn't even do anything! How come you guys got all the fun stuff." He pouted, and Sasuke shot him a smirk.

"Because you're an idiot." He stated smugly, and Sakura cooed over how cool he seemed. Naruto started ranting again, but a quick hit to the head curtesy of Sakura fixed that problem. Kakashi sighed and motioned for them to follow him back out of the cave system.

They met back with the farmers easily enough, quickly laying the owners worries about the cave to rest, much to the delight of his son. They made good time back to Konoha, reaching the Eastern Gate early that evening, where they quickly reported to the Hokage Tower. After handing in their report, Kakashi dismissed the team, who went their separate ways.

Naruto was almost dead on his feet by this time, and he didn't even bother getting undressed before falling into bed, the ancient artefact pressed against his ribcage, directly underneath his heart. He felt the ghostly arms caressing his face once more and fell into a deep sleep filled with flashes of a strange desert covered land.

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><p>He watched a strange planet from space, and saw strange machines drifting along, instinctively knowing that they were space ships filled with humans and Plants. He watched the strange malfunction of the ships; and a woman named Rem Saverem stay behind to save everyone.<p>

He watched a man named Vash fight many battles in the deserts, gaining many wounds, but he always wound up victorious without ever killing somebody. He watched as Vash eventually defeated another man; someone called Knives, and took him home. But the other man was bitter, and eventually took his own life so Vash would never win. He fell into a deep depression and disappeared for seven years, before Rem appeared.

He watched as Vash followed her advice and fell in love with a woman named Meryl, eventually giving up the last of his life-energy to reproduce and give her a child. He watched Vash's descendents, knowing each were part Plant. He watched as the Plant genes never diluted as time went on, despite how much the children mixed with humans and bore their children.

He watched as Vash and Knives became things of legends, eventually forgotten in the weave of time. As Plants came to be regarded as sentient beings, and in turn created water and oxygen, and breathed life into the desert planet called Gunsmoke. He watched as the first bloodlines appeared, gifted to the people by Plants that were strong enough.

He watched as the Tailed Beasts were born, starting off as one child with massive powers who took on a spirit animal and became immortal. He watched as the Ten-Tailed Beast was then captured and sealed away by the Sage of Six Paths, and then split into the nine Tailed Beasts. He watched as the first summons were made when humans forgot the source of their gifts, partially just as gifts from the Plants and partially to help keep the humans power in check.

He watched as history was forgotten, history was made, technology was lost and rebuilt as a shadow of its former glory. As Plants went dormant, awaiting those who would acknowledge them and remember them once more, the few who remained awake happily serving those who cared for them and producing gifts for the public.

He remembered the complete history of the world, watching it develop from an uninhabited desert world, into the populated lush planet it was now.

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><p>The next morning, Naruto awoke refreshed and feeling as though he hadn't just watched the world form in his dreams, as though he didn't hold thousands of years in his mind, and all the lost technology that went along with it. He pulled the gun from his jacket, as he knew what it was now, and held it up in the early morning rays of the sun, giving the barrel a spin and checking it for signs of damage from thousands of years of neglect. He aligned the barrel with the six o'clock chamber and climbed out of bed, ready to face the new day.<p>

He quickly went through his morning ritual, meditated on the values of Love and Peace for all of three seconds, and made a mental note to visit a clothing store after he had met with his team. He tucked the revolver back into his jacket pocket and jogged to the usual training ground, where Sasuke and Sakura were already waiting.

"Good morning, Sakura!" He called out to her. She swung her usual fist of greeting at him, but he tripped on a stone and stumbled, narrowly dodging the blow. Sakura blinked when her fist didn't connect and went to attack him again, only to miss as he stumbled, tripped, spotted a lucky penny, and any other variation of the acts. Eventually she gave up, huffing.

"Naruto, you idiot. Only you could be so bloody clumsy. Loser." She said, before turning to Sasuke and fawning over him. Naruto merely smiled happily at her and sat on the bridge railing, whistling a strange melody.

"So… On the first night, a pebble falls to the earth from somewhere." He sang softly.

Kakashi arrived soon afterwards and set the team to training, disappearing again to read. Naruto turned to the others and grinned widely. "I'm going to go train over there, okay?"

Sakura and Sasuke didn't pay him any attention, instead focusing on their respective 'training'. Naruto whistled cheerily as he walked away, finding his own clearing to practise in. No one noticed that his footsteps were different, or that the right side of his jacket weighed more than the left side.


	2. Chapter 2: Periwinkle for Preparation

This was inspired by the oneshot Naruto the Stampede, written by Yaraslava Rada. Thanks Yaraslava!

Just so you know, Naruto _has_ changed. He's a bit smarter and more like Vash, but not a carbon copy. Also, he's had the benefit of seeing countless descendants of Vash, and anyone else around that time, going through the ages and watched the birth of the ninja's. So he knows what being a good ninja is all about. You'll see the major differences his personality has taken in this chapter. Of course, he's still an idiot… but then, Vash was an idiot. Or so he seemed…Mwahaha.

If you want Naruto's version of Vash's outfit, type in 'black Vash the Stampede' to Google images. You'll see it.

I'm trying not to make Naruto Mary-Sue. Unfortunately, this is very hard to do when he now has memories of the past three thousand years. So I have decided, while he has the knowledge of what happened, he doesn't know how to recreate techniques or fighting styles, and has to physically train to be anywhere as good as anyone from back. He has to train in his gun as well, because while he knows the theory behind using it, he doesn't know the practical applications.

I gave Naruto about 200000 yen when it came to buying his new outfit and weapons. He spent about 160000, which converts into roughly $2080 US. Overall, Naruto's two leather outfits and three dusters, with minor charka reflection, cost about $1380 using a system I worked out. This is a full body leather suit, including cost of material and workmanship. Decent leather cost around $59 a square metre. I think it's reasonable. His boots cost him around $300, and the ammo cost around $400 for one hundred bullets. This includes failures and materials, as well as time used to create it. I think these prices are reasonable. If you have a problem, let me know and tell me what you think a reasonable price would be.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Trigun. Recently, I've been rereading Trigun actually, and I saw online something about a movie called Trigun: Badlands Rumble. Apparently it came out last year, so I'm gonna see if I can find it anywhere and watch it.

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><p>Chapter Two: Periwinkle for Preparation<p>

Naruto had finished 'team training' for the day – that is to say, he had trained on his own while Sakura and Sasuke did whatever they wished in a separate clearing, and was looking forward to getting something made that he had seen the previous night. Of course, it wouldn't be exactly the same as that would be _completely_ unoriginal, and he knew both red and orange were unsuitable for a ninja.

Well, he knew _now_ anyway.

Naruto entered the small clothing store and looked around in curiosity. The small shop was dim, the walls and floor filled and stacked with many bolts and cuttings of materials, from expensive silks and leathers to cheap cotton, in varying colours and widths, thickness and protective ability. This shop catered to both ninja and civilians who wanted custom clothing, and stocked a series of expensive materials designed to reflect small amounts of chakra and divert weapons. This was in fact the very shop Gai bought his jumpsuits from. And it was the perfect place for Naruto to commission his new outfit.

Naruto didn't yell in excitement, or make a fuss over the types of materials, or demand service. Instead, he greeted the owner with a large smile, and received a suspicious glare before the old man grunted. "What do you want, kid?"

"I was wondering if you could make something for me?" He asked. "It's an outfit I… dreamt about last night, and I was wondering if you could recreate it."

The shopkeeper shot him a look as he stood up, his eyes flicking up to the headband Naruto wore around his forehead and moved from behind his counter to a stack of common shinobi outfit designs. He pulled out a box and started sifting through the packets. "Depends what you want. I can make jump suits, I can make martial art outfits, or I can even recreate the feel of that ancient material 'denim'. Not that it's the real thing, but it's pretty close if I do say so myself."

He pulled out a packet, holding the design up against Naruto before shaking his head and turning back to the box. "I can make clothing so baggy you'd trip over, or so tight it'd be a second skin. I've managed to make most of the colours of the world through natural dyes, so there's none of that 'chemical' stuff, like in your jump suit."

Naruto listened in awe as the man described what he could do as he continued holding designs up against him. The owner set a few aside before shoving the box back on its shelf and turned back to Naruto. "These are the styles best suited to your current looks."

Naruto looked them over for a moment, and then pulled a few pages from his pocket. "Actually, I was hoping you could recreate this."

The shop keep looked over the pages, raising an eyebrow at the leather suit and red duster design and looked back up at Naruto. "This'll cost you a bit. This much leather of a decent thickness isn't easy to come by. And the jacket seems a bit much – why not just wear a complete suit of leather, instead of leaving these bits open?"

Naruto shrugged and crossed his arms, ignoring the way his gun poked him in the side from the action. "It's more to honour family long gone than anything else. And I think the jacket's cool; though I'll admit bright red isn't much of a ninja colour. And money isn't a problem – God knows I've saved enough of it to afford a few outfits."

"Ah." The shopkeeper studied the design for a few more moments, shuffling the pages as he checked the drawing Naruto had made. It showed a few of the different angles the tailor would need, but didn't crowd the page with unnecessary details. He nodded and looked up at Naruto. "I'll have to make the pattern from scratch, and I need measurements. What colour were you thinking of making this?"

Naruto nodded, already having guessed that was the case. "I want it in black."

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><p>Naruto paid for half of it up front, the rest to be paid when the owner had finished making a few of the outfits. He knew it was touch and go with the materials, but as long as the tailor kept detailed receipts and didn't try to cheat him he was willing to pay any increases in the cost.<p>

The next two shops he visited were a cobbler's store, where he commissioned the woman inside to make the boots from his dream, and a weapons shop specifically catered towards small bombs and delicate weapons, with a small side section of fireworks and flares for signalling. He showed the owner of that shop the only bullet he had on him – the only one that had been inside the chamber of his revolver when he'd found it – and quickly sketched out the specifics for what he needed. The smith was eager to start, seeing this as an opportunity to try and bring back some ancient weapons which would greatly benefit Konoha.

He left the weapon smith's shop satisfied that he would have a supply of ammunition for when he wanted to use his gun.

In the mean time, as he waited for his commissions to be completed, Naruto trained on his speed and accuracy, trying to reach the levels his ancestor had once obtained. His father Minato Namikaze, who had been revealed to him last night – the night of 'Remembering' as he called it – had been as fast as Vash, but only through the use of a specific seal that he designed. Naruto wanted to naturally be that fast.

It had been quite a shock for the boy at the revelation that his father was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, and the one to seal the Kyuubi within his body. It had also been a shock to be able to trace his paternal line right back to the time of Vash the Stampede, who had fallen out of the history books by now, and realise that the Humanoid Typhoon himself was Naruto's ancestor.

And because of the way Plant genes were dominant, Naruto was as much Vash's son as his father was, and his father's father, and all those that came beforehand.

He spent most of the next month trying to figure out what he should do with the knowledge he now held while he trained. He felt proud that his father was so important and his hero, and yet he felt angry and disappointed that he had sealed the Kyuubi inside him and then died soon after. He wanted to shout it from the tops of the buildings, but didn't want the villagers to know such an important secret. And he was confused as to what he was supposed to do about the Hokage, who had lied to him about his heritage repeatedly.

* * *

><p>He was summoned a few weeks later; by a small messenger pigeon to the clothing store he had commissioned his new outfit from, and bounced in joy as he watched the man pull a large box from the storage room. He opened it and gazed upon the dark cloth of his duster with happiness, quickly checking out the leather armour as well. The man jerked a thumb over towards a small curtained off area towards the back of the shop.<p>

"Go try it on – don't want you coming back here, complaining that it doesn't fit you properly." He ordered, and Naruto nodded his head enthusiastically, bounding towards the change rooms with excitement. The sound of creaking leather and rustling cloth was all that emitted from it, before Naruto shouted, "Totally awesome!"

He flung the curtain open, showing his new outfit off to the man who nodded in appreciation. The tailor scratched his moustache for a moment before pulling out a pincushion and walking over to the young teen. "Stay still – I want to make a few little adjustments."

Naruto almost jumped away, but froze when the man fixed him with a glare and pointed at him with a pin. The tailor chuckled in amusement at the boy as he pinned a few last things and shoved him back in the change room. "Get out of that, and wait five minutes. You'll be wearing that suit by this afternoon."

He shouted in glee again and quickly stripped the outfit off, thrusting the clothing back at the tailor. The man chuckled again at him enthusiasm and moved over to a small table cluttered with patterns and cloth. He shoved most of it off, revealing an old sewing machine, where he started taking in a few seams and adjusting other pieces. Naruto jumped onto the counter and sat on it, idly swinging his legs as he waited. He thought about his boots and ammunition for his gun, and wondered if they'd be ready before his next C-Ranked mission.

"Here you go." The owner of the shop said, passing the outfit back to him. "All fixed. Now get out of that orange monstrosity before you blind someone."

Naruto pouted and opened his mouth to retort, but was rudely pushed back into the change room.

When he came back out, the shopkeeper was putting the finishing touches on his other leather armour and two dusters, before folding them up and placing them back in the box. "Right. That comes to one hundred and six thousand, two hundred and eighty-five Ryo. You paid fifty thousand already, so that's… fifty-six, two eighty-five."

Naruto pulled his frog wallet out of his pocket and counted out the money happily, relishing in the feel of his new armour. It creaked slightly as he moved, but he guessed that was because the leather was new, and that it would stop once he had worn it in a bit. The shopkeeper grinned as he accepted Naruto's money, putting it away in the till quickly and tying Naruto's box shut with a long piece of twine before pushing it towards the boy.

"Good luck!" He called after the teen as he exited the store, and Naruto nodded in response. He turned towards the cobblers, who had said she would have the boots finished some time this week. She looked up as Naruto entered, and scowled.

"Oh, it's you." She grunted, reaching under her counter and placing a pair of knee high leather boots on the counter. "Do you know how painful these things were to put together?"

"Uh… I'm sorry for the trouble?" Naruto offered, placing his box down as he toed off his ninja sandals. He pulled on the boots happily and wriggled his toes in them, sighing in satisfaction. "Wow! These are brilliant – a perfect fit! Thanks!"

"What did you did you expect? I'm the best damned cobbler in Konoha, brat." The cobbler shouted, and Naruto grinned. "Yeah, yeah, stop smiling at me you loon. Now pay up. Those babies come to a total of twenty-three thousand and sixty two ryo."

"Sure!" He chirped, once again pulling Gama the Frog from his pocket. The lady twitched at such a childish wallet when he looked so intimidating in his new outfit, but didn't comment. He counted the money onto the counter, and the woman shoved the boots at him.

"I don't want to see those things for at least twelve months. You'd better look after them brat, or I'm going to kill you." She warned him. He gulped nervously and nodded. "And wear socks with them – the leather will just rub your feet raw, and you'll be in constant pain."

Naruto nodded in appreciation of the warning and piled the boots on top of his box, grinning at the storeowner as he left and making his way to the final stop for the day. She grumbled behind him as she counted the money into the till, the door closing behind him with a bang.

He reached the weapons shop quickly and walked in, calling out a greeting to the weapon smith. The man lit up when he saw Naruto, and hurried the boy into his back room.

"Look! A hundred and twenty of the little things, just waiting to be used!" He said proudly, gesturing to the small silver cases lined up on his workbench. There were twenty cases neatly stacked, and Naruto nodded in appreciation.

"Awesome. Shall I test one out?" He asked, and gained an eager nod from the man. "What can I shoot?"

The man showed him a small dartboard with a few darts sticking out of it, and stood back when Naruto gestured for him to do so. Naruto took careful aim and pulled the trigger, stumbling slightly from the recoil. The bullet hit the dartboard to the left, creating a hole in the wood and getting stuck in the wall, and Naruto blew out the small trail of smoke at the end of his gun. He glanced at the weapon smith, who was staring at him with stars in his eyes.

"That – That – That was _beautiful_!" He exclaimed. He crawled forwards and pouted, and Naruto took a step back nervously. "Can I – Can I borrow this 'gun' of yours? To make new ones? _Please_?"

"Uh…" He glanced around the room, desperate for a distraction, and spotted a clock. "Oh, look at the time! Gotta go, things to train, people to see, stuff to shoot! You know the drill!"

He grabbed his ammunition and packages, dropping a handful of bills on the counter to pay for the bullets as he raced out the door. The man watched after him in dismay before turning to the money he had left behind. "Eh? This is too much… Oh well! I'll use this money to make more bullets for him!"

* * *

><p>That night Naruto stared up at the hole in the moon, thinking. While he knew about his Plant genes, they were still dormant as they had been for over a thousand years, and he was wondering how to activate them. They hadn't activated in the fight against the Demon Brothers or Zabuza, or even Haku while he was in Wave, or against Mizuki when he had graduated, so he was almost set to rule out a life or death situation to awaken them like the Sharingan.<p>

Unfortunately, it wasn't like an eye technique like the Byakugan either, and he couldn't just channel chakra to his genes…

He sat up straight suddenly, an idea entering his mind. Carefully, the blonde teen gathered his chakra and focused on his blood cells, his organs, his skin, and what he hoped was his genes. He shut his eyes to concentrate for a moment, trying to draw the genes awake, to activate them.

Fierce pain riddled his body suddenly, and it overwhelmed him. He fell back onto his bed, unconscious, as the sun slipped below the horizon.

* * *

><p>Naruto woke up in the oddly familiar sewer of his mind, though it seemed more alive than it had the last time he was in here. He followed the twisting tunnels to the Kyuubi's cage, and the demonic eyes stared down at him.<p>

"**To what do I owe this **_**pleasure**_**?"** Kyuubi sneered. Naruto frowned and stared back at him, and the demon fox sniffed the air before freezing. **"What? What has happened? You are… different?"**

Naruto blinked in confusion. "What?"

"**What have you done since you last came in here, boy?"** The Kyuubi demanded, slamming up against the cage in an attempt to reach Naruto. Naruto took a step backwards in apprehension.

"Uh, well… I went on an exploration mission and found a gun… and somehow remembered the last three thousand years of history following the descendants of Vash the Stampede." He explained. Kyuubi growled lowly.

"**How do you know of that name? It has been lost to the human race for centuries!"** He demanded, and Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Weren't you listening? I told you, I remembered the last three thousand years of history following Vash the Stampede's descendants, of which I am one." He explained again. Kyuubi stilled and stared at the boy in shock.

"**You… are descendant from Vash? An independent Plant? You are a Plant as well?"** He whispered, and Naruto cocked his head in confusion.

"Uh… I guess so. I was actually trying to awaken my dormant Plant genes when I fell unconscious and came in here, actually." Kyuubi was silent for a moment, before sighing.

"**Typical. Why didn't I pick this up before? Of **_**course**_** only a Plant would be able to seal away a Tailed Beast – certainly no mere **_**human**_** could. And I was sealed into **_**another**_** Plant.'** He continued muttering to himself, ignoring the blonde.

"Hey Kyuubi," Naruto started suddenly, drawing the demonic fox out of his thoughts. "You were part of the Jyuubi, right? And the Sage of Six Paths separated him into the nine Tailed Beasts after he had captured him, right?"

"Correct…"

"And the Jyuubi was created through bonding with a spirit animal, which was actually created by the Plants, right?" He asked again.

"**These are all part of your… 'Visions of the Past', aren't they?" **Kyuubi asked, and Naruto nodded. **"I suppose that means technically I am beholden to you, boy. After all, you are part Plant and Plants were the ones that brought about my existence."**

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked suspiciously, and the Kyuubi smirked.

"**It means I am obligated to help you achieve your dreams as an individual Plant." **He told the boy. **"Congratulations. You will become a lot stronger soon. Within reason, of course."**

"Oh, of course." Naruto agreed, and smiled up at the fox. The fox merely scowled down at him.

"**That doesn't mean we're going to suddenly get along, you brat!"** The Kyuubi yelled, and Naruto cowered in fear. He smirked to himself, pleased that he was still scary. **"Go on, get out of here boy. I'll talk to you when I need to."**

* * *

><p>Naruto woke up abruptly, realising that it was just bordering on dawn. He quickly rolled out of bed and pulled on his brand new outfit, and did his morning ritual before running out the door to get to the training field on time. Sakura took one look at him before trying to hit the blonde in the head.<p>

"Idiot! Stop trying to be cool like Sasuke!" She yelled. Naruto stumbled over a plank on the bridge, dodging the girl's fist, and she scowled to herself before turning back to Sasuke and badgering him again. Sasuke stared at him for a moment before dismissing him.

"Hn. Idiot." He muttered. Naruto smiled widely and reached into a brown paper bag in his arms, pulling out a small roll of bread with a hole in the middle. He had been extraordinarily pleased when he had passed a bakery on his way to the team meeting that morning, and spotted the donuts in the window. They were almost as good as ramen, and actually made a much better breakfast meal!

Kakashi appeared a few hours later and handed the trio a sheet of paper each, telling them he had nominated them for the Chunin exams. His gaze lingered on Naruto's new outfit before dismissing it as a new fad the boy had found, and promptly disappeared.

Naruto cheered in excitement and told his teammates he was going to enter before running off to celebrate with a bowl of ramen at Ichiraku's. Sasuke grunted before turning and walking off, leaving Sakura alone to worry about whether or not she should enter.


End file.
